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The Commoner.
WILLIAM J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR
.
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VOL. 7, NO. 36
Lincoln, Nebraska, September 20, 1907
Whole Number 348
CONTENTS
DEMOCRACY VS. CENTRALIZATION
NATURE FAKIRS'
' . LET THE FOREIGNER PAY IT
NO INVIDIOUS COMPARISON
"WHOLESOME" LAW BREAKING.,
'MAY BE REDUCED FIFTY PER CENT
MILES TO FORAKER
THE HARRIMAN FUND
WHEN MR. TAFT DID NOT STAND PAT
WASHINGTON LETTER
COMMENT ON CURRENT TOPICS
HOME DEPAHTMENT
WHETHER COMMON OR NOT
NEWS OF THE WEEK
THE ADVANCE ON CLEVELAND
LET HIM GO TO TRIAL
The friends of Senator Borah say that the
indictment against the senator was brought
about by collusion and they have persuaded tho
department of justice to have an investigation
into the proceedings before the grand jury.
Why not let Senator Borah go to trial and
Jbo vindicated in the investigation in that way?
Friends of Haywood charged that his in
dictment and arrest were brought about by col
lusion but we do npt remember that it was ser
iously proposed to investigate the proceedings
leading up to his arrest in any other manner
than a regular trial in court.
If Senator Borah is entitled to a vindica
tion he will find that a vindication obtained
through a public trial will be of far more, ser
vice to him than one obtained in any star cham
ber proceeding.
oooo
AN UNSAFE RULE
The New York World says: "Paul Morton,
who is in Paris, says: 'I understand that Mr.
Root will be a candidate for the presidency.'
Mr. Morton is misinformed. Mr. Root can not
be a candidate, because with his past connec
tions he is disqualified."
Wh'y should Mr. Root be disqualified be
cause of his "past connections" meaning his
affiliation with . corporations? The same rule
would drive from the contest a number of other
republican candidates. Indeed tho same rtllo,
fairly applied, would put the republican party
itself out of business.
OOOO
SUCCESS TO THE COMMONS
The house of commons of Great Britain
has started out to limit the power of the House
of Lords. Success tothe Commons. The party
of the people is growing everywhere and the
party of the aristocracy is the .dying party tho
world around.
OOOO
WHY SILENT IN OREGON? '
Secretary Taft spoke at Portland, Oregon,
but he is not reported as saying anything about
the initiative and referendum which the repub
licans of that state adopted. Why does he de
nounce "this reform in Oklahoma and teep silent
on the subject in Oregon?
OOOO
WHY NOT SENATORS?
Why does Mr. Taft avoid the direct elec
tion of senators? Is he for, It or against it?
He did not take time to express himself on this
before he sailed . .
o. - -
-GOING A LONG WAY OUT OF THE ROAD LOOKING FOR TROUBLE
Democracy vs. Centralization
In his speech at Provincetown, Mass:, Mr.
Roosevelt said: "Most large corporations do
a business that is not confined to any one state.
Experience has shown that the effort to control
these corporations by mere state action can not
produce wholesome results. In most cases such
effort falls to correct the real abuses of which
tho corporation is or may be guilty; while in
other cases the effort is apt to cause either hard
ship to the corporation itself, or else .hardship
to neighboring states which have not tried to
grapple with the problem in the same manner;
and, of course, we must bo as scrupulous to
safeguard the rights of the corporations as to
exact from them in return a full measure of
justice to the public. I believe in a national
incorporation law for corporations engaged in
interstate business. I believe, furthermore, that
the need for action is most pressing as regards
those corporations Vhich, because they are com
mon carriers, exercise a quasj. public function;
and which can be completely controlled, in all
respects, by the federal government, by the ex
ercise of the power conferred under the inter
state commerce clause, -and, if necessary, under
the post-road clause, of the constitution. During
jthd last few years wo have taken marked strides
in advance along the road of proper regulation
of these railroad corporations, but we must not
stop in the work. The national government
should exercise over them a similar supervision
and control to that which it exercises over na
tional banks. We can do this only by proceed
ing farther along the lines marked out by tho '
recent national legislation."
Extracts from tho address delivered by Mr.
Bryan In September, 1905, before tho Jefferson
club of Chicago may bo interesting. That ad
dress was entitled "Democracy vs. Centraliza
tion." Mr. Bryan said:
"Tho partial adoption by some of tho re
publican leaders of remedies proposed by tho
democratic "party makes it opportune to draw a
distinction between tho fundamental principles
of democracy and tho principles of those who
view subjects of government from a different
standpoint. There aro two forces constantly at
work in every nation, one force tending to bring
the government nearer to tho people and tho
other tending to carry the government away
from tho people. To go a little farther back
we may start with the proposition that there
are but two theories of government ono that a
government Is a thing created by the people for
themselves this Is tho theory which Is embod
ied in our declaration of Independence, which
declares that governments derive their just pow
ers from the consent of the governed. The
opposite theory is that governments aro imposed
by the few upon the many such governments
resting on force. Few if any, governments now
known entirely exemplify either theory nearly
all, If not all, of' them representing a compro
mise between the two theories, but in every
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